A state dinner for controversial Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Berlin became awkward late Friday. In his speech, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier lamented the deterioration of the rule of law and human rights in Turkey, and Erdoğan accused Germany of hosting “hundreds, thousands” of terrorists, according to a report by Deutsche Welle (DW).
Steinmeier opened his address at the presidential palace by praising a long history of relations between the two countries, including Turkey’s role in accepting persecuted Jews and Germans during Nazi rule. He later alluded to recent times, when thousands of Turkish citizens have sought refuge abroad from an increasingly authoritarian Turkey under Erdoğan.
“Eighty years ago, Germans found refuge in Turkey — today, a worryingly large number of people from Turkey are seeking refuge here in Germany from the growing pressure on civil society,” Steinmeier said before Erdoğan, his wife Emine, and distinguished guests.
“As we discussed this morning in detail, I am, as president of this country, concerned about German citizens who are imprisoned in Turkey for political reasons, and I am also concerned about Turkish journalists, trade unionists, lawyers, intellectuals and politicians who remain behind bars,” Steinmeier went on to say.
The deteriorating human rights situation in Turkey and the detention of German nationals have put an added strain on relations between Berlin and Ankara. Steinmeier expressed hope that freedom, rule of law and human rights would return to Turkey more than two years after a failed coup attempt against Erdoğan.
According to DW’s report, in his speech, Erdoğan among other things told Steinmeier that he seemed to have “received false information” regarding the arrests that have taken place in Turkey. He also slammed Germany for “hosting thousands of terrorists” from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and the Gülen movement.
“Thousands of members of PKK, which is recognized as a terror group by the EU, walk freely in Germany,” Erdoğan claimed, according to Turkey’s state-run Anatolia news agency. “The FETO terror organization, unfortunately, hundreds, thousands of them are walking freely in Germany.”
He claimed that “PKK terrorists” make demonstrations in major German streets and held posters of the head of the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. Erdoğan said these activities were prohibited according to the German law and asked: “Then why are these [events] allowed?”
Eroğan also criticized Germany for hosting Can Dündar, a prominent Turkish journalist living in Germany who was convicted of espionage for publishing stories about the Turkish National Intelligence Organization’s (MİT) arms shipments to Syrian jihadists.
“When journalists are involved in acts of terrorism and have been condemned by a Turkish court, how can anyone still defend them?” he asked. “And here he gets a nice role.”
Earlier Friday, during a heated press conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Erdoğan, a Turkish journalist protesting press freedom in Turkey was escorted out of the room.
Erdoğan also used the press conference to call for Germany to extradite Dündar, the former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper. Turkey is also demanding the extradition of dozens of alleged followers of the PKK and Gülen movement. Germany considers the PKK a terrorist organization but has not applied the same label to the Gülen movement.
Erdoğan’s three-day state visit has drawn thousands of protesters into the streets. On Saturday, ahead of he opened a new mosque in the western city of Cologne.
Both the German and Turkish sides are trying to heal relations, which have nosedived over the past two years. In addition to lingering differences over human rights in Turkey, Erdoğan’s visit is focused on areas of mutual interest such as economic ties, the war in Syria and refugees.
The post Turkish President Erdoğan and his German counterpart exchange barbs during state dinner appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-president-erdogan-and-his-german-counterpart-exchange-barbs-during-state-dinner/
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